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Monday, December 14, 2015

PGFD Chief Message to His Personnel About "Safety, Violence and Leadership"

Ladies and
Gentlemen of the PGFD. I want to take a few moments with you to discuss some
recent incidents that have challenged the publics trust in our capacity to
provide professional service in our communities.

This past Saturday
I sent a broadly distributed email which was also shared over the station
printers. This message addressed my extreme disappointment with the actions of
some of our personnel, ultimately resulting in a physical and verbal
altercation between career and volunteer members on the scene of an active
house fire.

These actions and
behavior are absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. I will
not tolerate violence in the workplace in any way shape or form.

It is incumbent
upon each of us to ensure we take all steps necessary to correct this kind of
behavior and restore both the Departments and Publics trust in our abilities to
maintain a professional level of service.

After reviewing the
preliminary Violence in the Workplace investigative details, it is fairly clear
there is a pattern of activity needing immediate attention. There are no
excuses or counter claims that can justify any of what I have learned in the
preliminary investigation of this matter.

The investigation
continues, however I announced the following immediate actions in the email
Saturday:

1.First arriving unit officers
will no longer have the option to PASS command. In
concert with the impending release of the revised General Order 6-1
"Passing Command" will no longer be acceptable. First
arriving unit officers will either establish "Command" (a fixed
command post) OR establish "Tactical Command" (performing the 360 and
a forward position with their crew). All subsequent operations
will be in support of "Command" or "Tactical Command".

2.If "Tactical Command" has
been established, the first arriving command officer is expected to
"Assume Command". Upon assuming "Command", the
Incident Commander shall immediately obtain a "CAN" (Conditions,
Actions, Needs) report from the "Tactical Command".

3.All personnel are hereby directed
to cease the practice of charging attack lines from a
second or successive piece of apparatus until that units primary mission is
achieved (ie: water supply to the first engine). That second line
will normallybe expected to be deployed from the first
arriving engine. The practice of routinely running a long line and
charging it before water supply is established must stop! In any case, that second line will support
and backup the initial attack line OR will be deployed as
directed by "Command" or "Tactical Command". All
successive operations will be in support of "Command" or
"Tactical Command".

All
chief officers and supervisors must ensure the personnel under their charge
receive this information and understand it loud and clear.

Any
deviations from the directive above will result in the immediate
operational removal of the personnel involved, pending further review by
the Emergency Services Deputy Fire Chief

I will not tolerate
any environment that results in verbal or physical altercations and/or violence
in the workplace of any kind. We cannot and will not tolerate
competitions to "get to the fire first", which ultimately compromises
the safety of everyone involved and the integrity of our operations.

Our mission to
provide service to our communities in Prince George's County as safely and
efficiently as possible will only be accomplished with a professional and
cohesive team approach. Providing fire and emergency medical
services is not a competition and is not a turf battle. Providing service IS
our primary mission, which the public expects we will deliver professionally -
not one time have I heard someone from the community say "send me your
second best". They expect us, and the deserve for us to respond with our
'A' game and our 'A' team EVERY time. This cannot and will not involve
out personnel struggling over any actions on a scene.

Compliance is not optional – for the majority of our folks who do the right
thing day in and day out, I thank you – our communities thank you.

I assure each and
every one of you that as the investigations continues, that appropriate
actions will be taken as warranted when all of the
facts have been investigated. This is not a volunteer or career issue -
this is a safety, violence, and leadership issue which we must not allow
to adversely impact out operations. Our Department, our Personnel, and
our community expect and deserve better.

Let's ensure we are
providing the most timely and professional service possible, while ensuring
Everyone Goes Home safely.

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LODD April 15, 2016

Fire Fighter/Medic Lieutenant John "Skillet" Ulmschneider

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Tragically firefighters will find pets that have been injured in home fires. Sometimes owners are not availiable to bring their pet to a emergency vet or may not have the resources to afford medical care. The Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department and the Anne Arundel County SPCA have teamed up and created a fund whereas medical care for the pet would be covered in part or in full.
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